Gift Shoppe in Lobby
By Alli C., Bridgeton, NJ
Hospitals freak me out.
Being in a place where people are born, get sick,
and die frightens me.
If that is the cycle of life, when do you actually live?
I went into one today.
You know, one of those hospitals.
West Jersey District of Medical Science
I never knew it existed.
I only thought Jersey consisted of North and South.
Hospitals make me feel anxious, especially
in elevators.
Being in a small compact moving room filled with
disease is something I can’t handle
Everything moves so fast.
I always try to read and study the map while
buttons flash
They tell me what floor is what.
I’m going to the sixth, to see my aunt Marie.
She’s in the Progressive Care Unit, room seven
I don’t feel anxious because she’s dying
I feel anxious because of the separation
Anorexia on ground level.
Newborns on three.
Death on six.
Maybe separate angels live on separate floors
Pity on ground
Life on three
Death on six
Don’t tell God.
He’ll get angry that his cycle isn’t in order, or on
the right floor.
Newborns should be on ground
Anorexia on three
Death on six.
That’s the way He would have wanted it.
My aunt Marie, floor six, PCU room seven.
She’s dying, but I wonder if she ever really lived.
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